question about my flight from Texas to Copenhagen

I would save the $241 and use that money on the ground (or save it). Two hours difference is not a big deal to me. You can try to look at the on-time performance of the flight originating in Dallas to gauge likelihood of delay. Of course, it also matters how big the connecting window is between the London and Copenhagen flights under both scenarios, especially for absorbing a potential delay from Dallas (assuming that it's likely).

If it were me, I would take the first option (14 hours travel time vs. 16 hours and two connections) and just consider the few hundred dollars for airfare as part of the cost of the cruise trip. The shorter travel time and convenience (if this is your one trip for the year) would be more important to me at the start of such a trip. Copenhagen is a lovely city and I'd rather spend that 2 hours there than wrestling with a connection at DFW. It all comes down to personal preference though.

I'm assuming you will be able to get the connecting flights on the same ticket with the transatlantic flight?

One thing I'd consider is the transfer on the way back (assuming this will be the same routing). A transfer within the U.S. from an incoming international flight means retrieving your luggage, going through customs, and then dropping off your luggage again. The same does not happen in European airports. London Heathrow is not the most convenient airport for transfers either, but I'd rather change planes there than in the U.S.

If the trip is not imminent, I would hold off buying the ticket for now.

AA likes to push the partner flights on British Air first. They are the tickets with the criminally high fees. My guess is that this is what is happening your case.

Eventually (give it a few weeks if you can, but do check regularly) they open up the award seats on AA flights. These have as good or better schedules, and fees as low as $5.60

Also, be aware that AA allows you to put an award ticket purchase on "hold" for several days, so you can sort of keep one on reserve until a better offer shows up

Happy travels!

Thank you for your responses.

Returning from Copenhagen, I have to fly to London, change planes and then on to the United States. However I fly to or fly from, I have to change planes in :London.

I called American and was told that my fare from the United States to Europe would always be 30K miles. It does not matter what city I leave from or what city I go to, it would always be 30K miles. American also told me that the dollar amount I have to pay would only change slightly depending on the exchange rate. American said that they never have a sale on the tickets from the United States to Europe and vice versa.

I am going to mull this over.

One plus: if I fly American to Charlotte or Philadelphia (both are American hubs) and then on to London, it does break up the long flight some.

Are you headed to Europe to join a cruise? If reaching your destination on time is a factor, is it possible to arrive a day earlier? Of course, that would eat up some of the money saved if you go with option two if you need to pay for a hotel room...

Travel is always an exciting juggling act!

Having said that, if it were me, I'd go for the flight with the least number of plane changes. Fewer chances for things to go wrong. Fewer chances of any checked luggage going astray.

Only you can decide whether two hours is worth the difference between $29 and $290? Delays in Dallas are generally related to thunder storms so a mid afternoon/early evening flight from Dallas during summer (the best time to be in Copenhagen) can be an issue. Mornings or well after sunset shouldn't be as bad. I'm surprised you wouldn't have similar issues in Austin?

While AA may never go below 30k for transatlantic one way tickets, it can definitely be higher since there are only a limited number of ‘saver’ tickets are released for each flight.

And yes, the $270 option is actually on British Airways ‘metal’ that American sells paid and offers award redemption tickets for under a code sharing agreement.

For both paid and award tickets, there are US Department of Transportation rules about showing you the operating airline for a flight as well as the airline that sold you the ticket but that information is typically in smaller print. (I once had a ticket that was sold by Delta with a last leg on Virgin Atlantic that had been contracted to Aer Lingus to operate under Virgin Atlantic’s paint job)

I live in Austin and I really hate paying extra to take that British Airways non-stop flight to LHR with my AA miles, but that means we only have to change planes once to reach our destination in Europe, instead of 2-3 times if we fly to Dallas or some other stateside airport on American.

More thanks for more responses.

I always get to my port city three or four days before my cruise. I have a hotel booked four days before my cruise. I hate rushing and last minute so I like to take time to explore my port city, discover where I will be cruising from and get to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

I really make quite a production around my one trip a year.

Usually I fly very early morning like about 6:30 a.m. and have never had to deal with weather problems from Austin. Afternoon and evenings in September might be another story but Austin does not seem to
experience delays like Dallas does.

I am going to have to make a decision soon and I love the idea of flying non-stop from Austin to London and then on to Copenhagen but I also hate paying well over an additional $200 to do so.

I have lived in Austin since 1972 and it has only been a few years since we began having international flights. Until a few years ago, you always had to fly to another American city in order to fly international so I I am excited about the Austin airport going international.

I am leaving in just over three months and I feel that I need to make a decision soon.

I just booked this flight last Thursday. Since you’re using points I’d go with flying to Dallas. The BA direct from Austin is a really old 747 so you’ll have a nicer experience going through Dallas on a better plane. I booked the BA from Austin only because it was cheaper. Delays happen but nothing you can predict or control.

I am just beginning to understand what some of you have been telling me. I do not travel much.

I noticed that there were very few flights returning from Copenhagen early October so I called American to talk to them about the very inconvenient flights coming back from Copenhagen.

Now I understand. BA has to release the seats for passengers who are flying on American awards. BA has a lot of flights but they are catering to those passengers who are paying cash or probably are frequent fliers with BA.

We American passengers trying to fly on our points get the crumbs. However American did tell me to keep checking because BA will or may continue to release seats for passengers flying on American awards.

Thank you all for your input. It is very appreciated.

I have booked my round trip flight from Austin to Copenhagen and back. And guess what. After hours and hours of research, I found that it was less money and more convenient and easier to book using my Citi credit card partnered with American Airlines and forget the rewards for this international trip.

I got a great deal but still have to pay something extra if I want to reserve a seat in advance and for the longer part of the journey, I do.

So I paid $800 for extra miles last month and it still was not enough plus I would have had to pay something more in cash.

For my round trip, I paid $899 and that is round trip.

I can use my miles for other trips but i have to overnight in Copenhagen before flying home and I can use them for booking a hotel room even The Clarion in the airport. It requires a lot of miles but ...... this has all been a lesson for the learning.

Anyone ever stay at the Clarion in Copenhagen airport.?

I stayed at the Clarion last July on the night before departure and have reservations to stay there again departure on July 17. Very nice hotel with good customer service connected with the terminal so location could not be better. Somewhat pricey but I was happy to pay it. Second trip for me to Copenhagen for the jazz festival time. Had a fabulous time and vowed to return. Last year I flew into Stockholm which I loved and out from Copenhagen. This year flying in and out of Copenhagen with a week in Goteborg. Apparently you have already found a good deal on a ticket! But I will share my air anyway. Flying into Dulles from Greenville NC one way. Then used my United airlines miles only 57,000 instead of the usual 70,00 for business class. Dulles-Brussels-Copenhagen and used my AA miles to fly business class Copenhagen-london Heathrow-Charlotte-Greenville NC.
For some reason the return from Europe and route including London Heathrow only costs $235 instead of the $435 on the outbound . The London Heathrow fee is charged for reward tickets or added to paid tickets.
I used wonderful Airbnbs in Stockholm and Copenhagen and have reservations for Airbnbs this year in Copenhagen and Goteborg.

Cafetista.B

I think that you must be much younger than me. I am 74 years old and no longer have the energy or adventurous spirit that i did in my younger days.

Why do you fly Business Class? Is it because you like the reclining seat?

The Clarion does look really nice but pricey. However, I will be getting to the airport from my cruise about 11 a.m. or 12 noon on the 2nd. My plane does not leave until 7:20 a.m. the 3rd. I am going to be very tired and I want to be able to just rest and relax and sleep before heading home.

The Clarion looks to be just the place and I love that it is in the airport for a very early flight.

If my budget allows, I am going to maybe have a massage treatment and use the spa.

I'm 68 so not that much younger! I only fly business class on flights to Europe which except for Oaxaca Mexico is most of my travel. As to what I like about business class... everything from the longue access included with the fare, the food,wine and attentive service and the lie flat seats. However I have never paid for business class and could not afford to pay for it on a teacher retirement and small social security amount. I have managed to use mostly credit card bonus offers to fly to Europe twice a year since 2013.

Good for you Cafetista.

I only receive social security and because I was never very successful in life, it is low and I mean low.

I occasionally am still able to pick up a temporary gig here and there. The rest I have to take out of savings and I earn bonuses and gift cards here and there.

At one point I took two vacations a year but I have had to cut back to one. I, possibly, still will be able to take up to five more cruises if I budget. However, I might begin to cut back on the cruises and just fly directly to a vacation spot after this one.

I had a promotion with Norwegian and this is the last cruise on my promotion.

I might look in to upgrading to business class and see if it is worth it for me.

I am economy on BA and will have to pay extra to reserve my seat in advance. If the lounge is nice enough, I might just hang out at the lounge until it closes and then wait to go through security. My flight out is 7:20 a.m. so I assume that i can go through security about 5 a.m.

I am an insomniac so it is easy for me to stay up all night. I always sleep on the plane.